The red sands crunch under her hiking boots with every step, unobstructed in her path as every pokemon on Route 13 does their utmost to stay out of her line of sight. Her white and yellow sundress with matching fuzzy yellow hat ears flutter in the light breeze, as the attached paw-mittens gently whip about. Her purple-gloved hands swing lightly as she sashays through the desert landscape. Upon reaching the start of the bridge to the power plant, she lowers her metal-framed baby blue sunglasses, revealing a matching pair of blue eyes.

  On the bridge, and looking positively sunburned, is a Team Flare grunt who likely drew the short straw. He had been watching her through the hazy air, but slowly reached for a pokeball at his belt now that she was within an audible speaking range. “I apologize, Ma’am. The power plant is currently closed for repairs.”

  The woman slid her sunglasses back on, her grin locked into a firm smug, before she began power-walking towards the man. “I am aware; I’m here with the janitorial team.” She called out, swinging her arms to distinctly show a lack of pokeballs at her waist.

  The grunt, having a lick of sense, expanded a pokeball and released a Houndoom at his side with a howl. “There’s no need for some cleaners until the repairs are complete,” he argued, tensing up as she reached the edge of the bridge.

  The woman laughed, her voice deep and sultry. “Oh, dear me, has that claim worked on anyone yet?” She inquired, forcing the fire dog to launch at her with embers building within its mouth. “It probably has. But unfortunately for you, I was not lying.”

  The attacking dog was nearly upon her with flames ready to go, before it immediately vanished backwards, being carried by a massive stream of water at untold pressure levels. The horizontal pillar of water blew right past the grunt and into the far stone canyon wall with a large ‘crack’. The grunt was frozen, turning his head backwards to see where his pokemon had gone. In that moment, a deep blue blur made contact with him, transferring all its inertia and sending the man flying into the same rock wall beside his black dog, creating an even larger crater in the stone.

  The Lady whistles in amazement. “You know, if it weren’t for the safeties, that’d have killed him right?” She prods, resuming her march towards the objective. The blue mass lengthens and resolves its form into a long, white-bellied serpent with a jewel just beneath their skull. Dragonair rolls their eyes before slithering along behind the woman.

  “With how many hospitals and lives depend on this electricity, I find myself slightly less worried about their safety.” It responded, glancing back for a moment. Behind the two of them, the rest of the team were not far behind. Skrelp looked proud of herself, curled around the armored tank of a Shelgon for stability as the pair led the pack. On their flank strode a familiar Fraxure, who was seemingly vibrating in excitement as she whispered her chant of ‘raid, raid, raid!’. Pulling up the rear, Noibat was flying just above the two latest recruits; a Goomy and a Gabite. The two had been found arguing nearby, and Dragonair made it a point to bring them along for the journey.

  “Be careful about those feelings. The Protagonist sets the tone for the Story.” The Lady lectured, wagging a finger with a concerned expression. “So far we’ve kept it upbeat, but if you push too hard that may vanish, and any safety measures with it.”

  The team came to a stop once the massive building was in view, towering over the sands and stone. “Noted, but if they continue doing stuff like this I may not be able to keep an upbeat smile.” Dragonair twisted the upper part of their body to face the group behind them, determined and focused. “OK team, unlike the cave we need to be mindful of the walls and ceiling this time. We can’t afford to damage anything, so watch your background before you launch an attack. Any questions?”

  Gabite raised a wing/claw in the back before asking “How do we know who’s an enemy?” He seemed a mixture of confident and nervous, at least until Fraxure tapped his shoulder.

  “Just stick with me, buddy system! Target who I do, simple!” She said with a cheer, eliciting a smile in her new ‘buddy’. “Noibat can go with Goomy, and Skrelp with Shelly!” Shelgon huffed at the nickname, as Skrelp gave a giggle that sounded like bubbles popping.

  “Guess I’ll be solo this time,” Dragonair concluded, their fins flicking up and quickly searching the skies.

  “Oh, no; you’ll have a partner. The Narrator arranged for him to arrive just in time to help with this, so please be on your best behavior.” The Lady clarified, her eyes locked on a bird in the sky which slowly circled around to descend beside the party. He landed with a flap of his light brown wings, two long bird legs covered in off-white plumage standing on the sand. The white plumage extended up his body, up until an emerald green cape-like arrangement of feathers covered his shoulders and back, coming up into a pseudo-hood to obscure his owl-like face where a pair of orange eyes glowed from within the shadows.

  “You’re a long way from home,” Dragonair commented, as the newcomer nodded before offering a respectable bow to The Lady.

  “Welcome, Keanu. We were just deciding pairs before covering the briefing. You can pair up with Dragonair here. Now, for a quick run-down…” The Lady began, explaining the objectives and challenges to come.

  “First, there are several Team Flare members strewn throughout the plant. They won’t be caught off-guard like last time…”

  “-And that’s when that loser Andre just surrendered. Like, I had a feeling he wasn’t really on our side, but he didn’t even try! Asshole just recalled his weak pokemon once that woman smiled at him.” Elise ranted, and yet again I was forced to listen. I had been further inside the cave during that raid, but for whatever reason I had been put on the vanguard for this mission.

  The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

  “Don’t hold it against him, Elise. Andre had never really been cut out for this; guy was just desperate for enough cash to feed his Houndoom.” I chimed in, defending the only member of our organization who hadn’t accepted the ‘Get Out of Jail Free’ offer. My timer beeped and I pulled out the provided holo caster to call the point man. The line rang, and rang, and rang… and went to voicemail.

  “Pssh, another slacker. And Jerome claimed to be ‘the responsible one’.” She mocked using air quotes, disregarding the reality of the situation. I didn’t, and quickly pulled out a pokeball for the loaned Croagunk, releasing it nearby and palming my personal Scraggy.

  “Jerome isn’t a slacker; if he isn’t responding, then the intel was true.” I shared, as she rolled her eyes and called out her own Croagunk. Then, echoing in the silence of the hallway, I heard it.

  Someone was playing a grand piano like their life depended on it.

  “Second, there are some local employees who will need to be rescued…”

  Doing his best to match the symbols, Noibat pressed the buttons on the number pad in the same sequence they appeared on the paper taped next to it. It took a few attempts, but eventually he squeaked in happiness when the numbers went green and the door chimed. There was a ‘thunk’ as the mechanical latch unlocked, but it took both his and Goomy’s efforts to slide the heavy door open.

  Inside, six humans in worker outfits were hurriedly using the computers and switchboards, with dozens of manuals left open on any available surface, and several hastily-sketched diagrams drawn on paper and taped near specific areas on the switchboards. As the door opened, all six had their eyes on the two dragons, their expressions first that of fear, then confusion, and finally relief. “Are you here to save the plant?” One asked, hopeful.

  Noibat nodded, gesturing for them to follow. However none moved, and the one who spoke earlier bit her lip. “We– We can’t leave yet; we’re the only thing keeping this plant from going completely dark.”

  “If you can remove those invaders, we can get the automated systems back up and at least identify the damage around the facility.” Another chimed in from near the switchboard, before returning to his task of shifting cables around. Noibat and Goomy shared a look, before both nodded and made their way deeper into the facility.

  “And third, absolutely avoid damaging the equipment!”

  I was lucky Raphael had abandoned his position to reinforce mine. A Gabite was already a tough customer, but this Fraxure acted almost trained. Between his Golbat and my Mightyena, we were barely holding our own. “Keep your distance, Mightyena; use your range!” I shouted, eyeing Raphael beside me.

  “Golbat, punish them if either one over-extends! Use Wing Attack!” He called out, and just as anticipated the bat dove at the Gabite who was too far away from Fraxure. The dragon ducked barely in time, as the Golbat cut through where it had been, slicing through and hitting a pipe extruding from the wall. There was a shower of sparks as the electrical wires within died out, distracting both dragons for a moment as they eyed the damage.

  “Damnit, Raphael, you better hope that wasn’t important!” I shouted, secretly hoping it was. I’d been aiming at his role in the organization; if I could pin the blame for this on him, it might secure my promotion. That was when I heard another slicing sound, as the Fraxure cut the other side of the pipe and pulled. It hefted the pipe above its head, shouting “FRAX!”, which was definitely odd.

  “Heh, looks like we can just blame–” Raphael started to say, before the little menace threw the pipe like a javelin, nailing Golbat dead-on and dropping it out of the sky. Even the Gabite was caught off-guard, watching the events in awe.

  “Mightyena, cover for Golbat until it can fly again!” I ordered, trying to keep the match a two on two. At least, until I saw the Gabite cheer, and then use its wing to cut another piece of pipe with live wires off the wall; one we hadn’t damaged yet. It held the damaged object, still sparking, overhead before rushing in towards Mightyena and Golbat. The Fraxure seemingly laughed before closing in behind it for some kind of follow-up.

  “I really hope Aliana is having a better time, or is close to finishing up.” Raphael commented from my side, as we watched our pokemon take a combination bash from the pipe, electrocution from the charged wires, and a follow-up slash from the second dragon.

  I kept working the controls, checking the power levels and readouts against the numbers I was streaming to my holo caster. “Aliana, how close?” My number two for this mission asked, as she was focused on handling the two pokemon that had arrived to challenge us.

  “95% of the target, we’re almost there.” I responded, glancing back to notice she was on the back foot. To buy the final few moments, I tossed out my loaned Mightyena. “Mightyena, let Liepard lead the attacks and exploit any openings you can find. Prioritize the ghost.”

  96%, just a little closer. I observed as Liepard was forced into complete defense, unable to get a single attack in as that damn Dragonair just kept up the assault, even throwing a few distractions towards Mightyena. Meanwhile, the ghost pokemon continued to fire random feathers into the fight, always at random and unpredictable angles.

  97%- I watched as Liepard made to dodge the feather shot, but Dragonair was anticipating the move, and slammed the pokemon into the floor hard enough to dent the metal gantry. My admin hastily recalled her fainted pokemon, releasing her personal Houndoom. “Last one, Aliana!” She shouted, which was definitely a bad sign.

  98%, I saw water swirl around the dragon’s tail. “Mightyena, swap targets!” I called, implying her Houndoom should focus on the ghost instead. In advance, I began to grip my Escape Rope, hoping we could finish the power draw in time.

  99%, it was now or never. I pocketed my holo caster, returned the Mightyena before it could get pummeled, and straightened up; time to monologue the last few seconds. “You are quite strong, indeed I feel that the reports from the cave were understated.” I noticed my admin recall her pokemon, also gripping her rope. “Congratulations. As we now have enough power for our device, we shall be taking our leave. I look forward to seeing you again!” I pulled the rope, feeling the emergency escape activate, proud of our success in this mission.

  “Alright everyone, gather ‘round!” The Lady called with a simple clap, gathering the attention of the eight pokemon. “While not a perfect job, this was a success. Now, Lumiose City should be back to full power.”

  “They still got away,” Dragonair grumbled, as even the lone sentry who had been implanted into the rock wall had escaped. “And I could swear we fought some of them at the cave last time…”

  “A win is a win,” Keanu countered, as the rest of the group nodded in agreement.

  “They’ll still be more prepared next time, and their leader mentioned something about stealing power for a device.” Dragonair pointed out, but the group was unmoved.

  “So we just need to be more prepared than them, yes?” Fraxure suggested, earning a supportive cheer from the other dragons.

  Despondent, Dragonair slumps down. “Why am I the only one worried?” The Lady squats down, gently stroking the back of the noodle’s head and neck.

  “Because this isn’t a story about worries or grand plans. Your story is a group of rascals turned friends getting together and saving the day, one day at a time.” She explained, gently trying to assuage the young one of their fears. “I warned you earlier about setting the tone. If the Narrative shifts to give you what you desire, there will be consequences.” Her second sentence was a quiet whisper into the dragon’s ear, the rest of the group ignoring them while discussing their favorite parts of the raid. “A serious story has serious stakes; who would you be willing to lose for such an end?”

  Dragonair’s eyes were wide with panic, as they took in the happy chatter of the team. The smiles and laughter of their first two friends from back in the valley. The excited discussion between the two newest friends, and the pair from the beaches. With a shudder and a swallow, they shut their eyes, inhaled, and donned a mask of a beaming team leader proud of their squad. “Alright everyone! We did good today, so let’s go see the fruits of our endeavor and visit Lumiose City for a little rest and relaxation before we start training again!”

  Everyone was smiling, most from raw joy and elation, one from the facade they decided to keep up for the others, and the last with sad eyes. Her eyes flickered from left to right, reading some invisible text for her eyes only.